The decade is barely out, but the jury is already in: The 2000s were the worst decade since… The decade is barely out, but the jury is already in: The 2000s were the worst decade since World War II and “as awful as any peacetime decade in the nation’s entire history,” according to Andy Serwer of Time Magazine. The evidence cited? Simply, a lot of bad things happened between 2000 and today. This is true, but to say that these constituted an exceptionally bad 10 years is not only melodramatic but shows an astonishing lack of historical perspective.

First and foremost, there is that qualifier “peacetime decade” that makes one realize this nation hasn’t had many of them. There were only four decades without American participation in some war or another in the 20th century. If you count the Philippine Insurrection, general fiddling with Latin America and the invasion of Grenada as wars, the ’30s were the only 10 years of peace we’ve had in the last 110 years. It’s also disputable as to whether our decade, in which we fought two wars, can be considered “peacetime.”

What were the decades that were worse than this one? The 1970s saw the United States lose South Vietnam to Communism, the near-impeachment and resignation of its president, double-digit inflation and huge interest rate hikes to combat it, an energy crisis, the Iran hostage crisis, the rise of Japan and the subsequent weakening of the U.S. auto industry, two recessions, the collapse of the domestic steel industry, polyester, bell-bottoms and disco music.

Similarly, the 1930s were a bad decade. Unemployment was more than double what it is now, half the country dried up and blew away, a bunch of World War I veterans got roughed up by, of all things, the Army. Europe had the Spanish Civil War, Stalin’s show-trials, Hitler’s show-trials and murders not even sanctioned by these, an Italian invasion of Ethiopia during which poison gas was employed, the Japanese invasion of China, the Rape of Nanking and to close the decade with a bang, the German invasion of Poland.

Even decades that are not normally considered bad had bad things happen. The author of the Time article cites as evidence that this was the “Decade From Hell” based on the fact that we had two recessions and a terrorist attack, as well as financial shenanigans and inadequate regulation. Well, the “Roaring Twenties,” normally considered a golden age, had two recessions (1919 to 1921 and the crash of ’29), rampaging gangs and a corruption scandal that sent the Secretary of the Interior to prison.

The point is, simply saying a lot of bad stuff happened in the first 10 years of the new century does not automatically justify the “Decade from Hell” label. One could say, looking at the long period of American history, that this last decade was about average. History might come roaring back the way that Serwer argues, but it comes roaring back to remind us that, well, this decade wasn’t anything too special.

So, why did Time call this an awful decade? First, it is awfully exciting to live in cataclysmic times, to think that we can take years that were terrible and somehow improve them by rapid action. Cataclysm is also fun. Otherwise, we would be paying big money to see Tom Cruise gas up his car, shop for groceries and pay the bills in films called “The Accountant.”

There is an insecurity associated with normal times. I blame the old geezers. Which one of us has not been regaled with tales of “The Dee-pression” or stories of grandpa dragging artillery shells across Italy and Southern France? Now, we might laugh. We might dread what comes next: the “kids these days” speech. But be honest. How many of you don’t secretly admire your grandparents?

What makes the grandparents admirable? The times they lived through and the guff they endured. How do we make ourselves equally admirable? Make ourselves endure the same sorts of times.

There are very real political motives behind this characterization of the last decade and yet another reason to take such an assessment with a grain of salt. Why, if we had America’s worst decade, who’s at fault? George Bush. Further evidence of bias comes in the lip-service paid Barack Obama both directly — talking about his election as one of the few bright spots of the decade — and indirectly, playing into the message of hope and change.

Final judgment on the status of this decade belongs to another generation, which, in 30 years time, will be able to look back on us without being entangled in our politics. This generation will also know how two important features of the decade, the wars and the second recession, ultimately turned out. However, I am convinced that when this decade is evaluated later, it will be remembered as an eventful, but average, 10 years.

E-mail Mark at [email protected].